Imola Grand Prix A Look Back: Max Verstappen rules at the Imola Grand Prix

Max Verstappen held off the McLarens and wins the Imola Grand prix. With this result the Championship battle tightens, as Lando Norris closes the gap to Piastri with 13 points and Verstappen sits in third place, 22 points behind Norris.

The three header was off to an exciting start with the Championship leader Oscar Piastri starting on pole with Verstappen and George Russell on his heels. The home Tifosi didn’t expect much with their Ferrari’s Leclerc and Hamilton on P11 and P12. However, it was all to race for.

In the first chicane Verstappen pulled off one of his great moves and overtook the lead from Piastri, who braked too early. The Red Bull launched himself and began building a commanding lead. Piastri went straight into the pit and headed up front, until the retirement of Ocon’s Haas led to a virtual safety car. Some poor strategic team decisions and slow pit stops made Piastri the unlucky one of the day.

Verstappen controlled the race with a comfortable lead. It seemed the race was already decided until home boy Antonelli had to call it quits, resulting in a full safety car. Verstappen and Norris went straight into the pits, Piastri stayed out. With the pack of drivers so close on each other’s heels, the last ten laps of the race would be very interesting.

The Dutchman however, kept his cool and successfully held off the two McLarens at the restart. With Norris on fresher tyres a battle emerged between the Mclaren drivers for P2. Eventually Norris secured the second place with Piastri finishing the podium with a P3.

The two Ferrari drivers tried to give their home crowd everything they could and climb up their way into the grid. Hamilton overtook his teammate Charles Leclerc to finish P4 with Leclerc close behind on P6. This marked Hamilton’s best result yet in the Ferrari colors.

An honorable mention has to go to Williams’ Alex Albon, who drove a steady race ending in P5. Albon could smell the podium chasing Leclerc closely. During the battle he slid into the gravel which allowed Hamilton to surpass him and Leclerc. He would eventually overtake the Monegask and settle for a P5 finish. His teammate Carlos Sainz also contributed to the Constructors Championship by finishing eight.

The top ten closes with Isack Hadjar coming in at ninth and Yuki Tsunoda in tenth. Red Bull’s second proved himself this weekend, despite starting from the pit lane after a scary crash during qualifying on Saturday he still managed to climb his way up into the points.

Plenty to take away from the weekend, although the Mercedes’ drivers would likely want to forget this weekend. Italian rookie Antonelli experienced difficulties and ended it up not finishing his home race. These issue also set the tone for George Russel’s race, who eventually finished seventh, after starting the race in third position.

Conclusion of the day: never rule out Max Verstappen. His dominant win was the finishing touch on Red Bull’s 400^th Grand Prix. 

Arrivederci, Imola! À Bientôt Monaco !